he High Court of Kenya [has upheld the constitutional validity of national aggregation and verification of presidential election results], dismissing a constitutional challenge [that sought to strip the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) of its verification powers at the national tallying center].The
[In a judgment delivered at the Milimani Law Courts on Tuesday, September 22, Justice Gregory Mutai rejected a petition filed by Busia Senator Okiya Omtatah]. The petition challenged Section 39 of the Elections Act and Regulation 83(2) of the Elections (General) Regulations, arguing that constituency results are final and that allowing national verification introduces an unnecessary step [capable of undermining constituency declarations]. Senator Omtatah contended [that the national center should solely collate arithmetic totals to determine if candidates met constitutional thresholds]
“The tally and verify function is accordingly not an unconstitutional intrusion upon the constituency finality.” [Justice Mutai ruled]
Justice Mutai held [that national aggregation is a necessary mechanism to establish whether a presidential candidate satisfies the constitutional requirements] under Article 138(4), which mandates securing more than 50 percent of total votes cast nationally [and at least 25 percent in over half of the counties]. The court clarified [that while the IEBC must verify aggregated figures against certified records], it lacks any legal authority [to alter, adjust, or revise figures declared and certified by returning officers at constituency levels]
“The verification process does not give the commission power to add, subtract, multiply, divide, cancel, or otherwise revise any individual constituency figures,” [the court emphasized].
To enhance transparency ahead of the 2027 General Election, [the court ordered that national verification be conducted collectively by all IEBC commissioners]. The judgment further directed that presidential candidates’ agents and election observers must receive real-time access to underlying verification data. In cases where discrepancies arise between electronically transmitted results and physical records, [the court ruled that the physical results certified at polling stations shall prevail], requiring the commission [to document and publicly explain any resolved variances before declaring the winner]
Legal experts noted [that the judgment provides essential procedural clarity regarding election administration], preserving the integrity of constituency-level results while affirming the IEBC’s mandate [to confirm national thresholds]